Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo has submitted that despite the nation’s current challenges, Nigerians must avoid drifting towards voices that appeal to darker impulses.
He pleaded that instead the nation should learn to counter fear, despair and division with inspiring faith, creative optimism and solidarity.
He specifically called on the elites to act in solidarity and build a consensus to settle contending issues in the nation and enlarge the circle of opportunity especially for the young people.
In the same vein, the Vice President said the nation’s political, economic and religious leaders must shun divisive narratives so as to bring all Nigerians together, heal rifts between communities and build bridges across divides.
According to Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Laolu Akande, Prof Osinbajo stated this on Thursday evening in Abuja during his keynote address at the Leadership Conference and Awards on the theme: National and Regional Insecurity: The Role of Political and Non-Political Actors in Stabilization and Consensus Building.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar was Chairman at the event attended by some state governors and members of the Federal Executive Council including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and Health Minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire.
Referring to the phrase, “Noblesse Oblige” which in English means “nobility obligates,” the VP stated that it conveys the idea that nobility extends beyond mere entitlement and requires people of noble status to fulfill social responsibilities.
Explaining, he noted that “the highest office and duty of the elite is sacrifice, sacrifice, and more sacrifice,” the VP urged the nation’s elites to “be prepared to tell our constituencies the truth even if it hurts our political fortunes or our popularity.”
The Vice President also called on the nation’s elites to stop depending or promoting tribal and religious fault lines for legitimacy, noting that “the external reasons we cite as reasons for our problems cannot thrive without severe internal weaknesses in our society.”
He added: “We must be able to say to the young men and women who say secession is the only way or that we should break up into little nations that that is the way of extinction not development. We must, as religious leaders, be able to tell our adherents that people of other religions are not their enemies, they are brothers and sisters and that they must not allow those who will benefit by division and strife to tell them differently.”
Osinbanjo stated further that all Nigerians must endeavour to promote civilized values, including affirming the value and sanctity of human life, rather than violence, ethnic and religious fault lines to drive national change.
While he emphasised on the need to reform institutions for law and order to thrive, the VP also noted the importance of building consensus and mediating elite competition and conflict in “finding an acceptable ‘middle ground’ among contesting options to the resolution of issues.”
Emphasising the importance of “corporate social responsibility, good corporate citizenship” and what he termed ‘transformational elitism’ in nation building, the VP stated that, “in times of crisis, the elite must broaden its horizons beyond their specific disciplines and sectors. Accordingly, business leaders understand that it is not enough to focus on making profits; businesses need a healthy society within which to operate and make profits. This is why there are now such concepts as corporate social responsibility and good corporate citizenship.”
Addressing how elites can drive national transformation, the Vice President added: “the Media elite must recognize that they have a responsibility to exercise discernment in the deployment of their platforms and must reflect upon whether they are amplifying the most insensate, intemperate and incendiary voices in our midst while marginalizing voices of reason.
“The Political elite must accept through policies and actions, that the purpose of power must be to better the lives of those we serve and give the young great hope for the future. Once we put on the lens of social responsibility, different and higher imperatives come into play. This is what transformational elitism looks like.
“Legal practitioners understand that the imperative of transformative leadership in the legal sector today calls for the Bar and the Bench to insist on the integrity of our system of justice, to insist on speed in the dispensation of cases and to call out anyone who compromises the system.
“Those of us in this conference are by virtue of our pedigree and status, members of a privileged minority. The contrast between our exceptional circumstances and the material conditions of the majority of our compatriots imposes a moral obligation on us to work for the common good, towards a society that works for all by spreading the circle of opportunity.”
Highlighting how the nation’s elites are integral to the process of deepening national unity, the VP said, “in times of crises, we learn and relearn lessons in solidarity and in the value of pulling together.
“In times of adversity, societies buffeted by uncertainty and anxiety are tempted to drift towards voices that appeal to our darker impulses, to those that traffic in fear, despair and division. Elites such as those gathered here today must counter such voices by inspiring faith, creative optimism and solidarity. I remain unyielding in my belief that we will prevail over adversity by the strength of our togetherness. The present moment is crying out for leaders that can bring our people together, heal rifts between communities and build bridges across divides.”
While calling for compromise and broad-based constructive engagements on national issues, the VP reiterated the need for all Nigerians, regardless of tribe, ethnicity or religion to come together for nation-building purposes, stating that, “the recognition that the system is not working optimally for many of our people should inspire a broad-based movement for reform that works to recalibrate the present order and attune it more to the aspirations of our people.”
Osinbanjo urged Nigerians to resist temptations of being led astray by those with ulterior motives in pushing particular agitations.
He noted “it is also understandable that we may find that some of these agitations resonate with us. We may consider them legitimate causes and identify with them as such. However, the temptation is that our sympathy with legitimate causes blinds us to the destructive and illegitimate means employed by those that pursue these causes. This is a temptation that we must resist.
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